Details
| Details | | Series: | Junior World Biographies Series |
| Size | | Height: | 9.3 in | | Width: | 0.8 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 12.0 oz |
Industry Reviews
Gr 4-7 Fortunately for students whose interest in Pocahontas may have been spurred by the current Walt Disney movie, this book does indeed tell the ``true story'' of the Powhatan princess, so young readers will learn from it how much of a contrived fantasy the film version really is. With original drawings, paintings, and quotes from primary sources such as John Smith's The General Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles, Iannone has used a clearly constructed, age-appropriate, and lively expository style to describe the salient details of Pocahontas's short life. In discussing the famed incident involving John Smith, the author explains that some historians believe the young woman's seemingly courageous act may actually have been some sort of Native American adoption ritual, or may have been invented by Smith to promote English investment in the New World. Jean Fritz's The Double Life of Pocahontas (Puffin, 1987) might be more appropriate for older students as it offers more background information, plus page notes and a lengthier bibliography, but her narrative, spiced with a storyteller's humor, exclamation, and figurative language, is interesting to all age levels. Iannone's book follows the standard series format but the cover illustration has been altered from the original portrait and shows Pocahontas's face with what appears to be makeup. This useful biography, though lacking Fritz's flair, will help sort out the fact from the fiction in the life of this famous Native American. Phyllis Graves, Creekwood Middle School, Kingwood, TX
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